A real bummer: Ng Tze Yong will miss the French Open (March 5-10) and All-England (March 12-17).
PETALING JAYA: The decision to allow men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong to undergo surgery to treat his back injury was not one taken lightly.
After exploring every avenue possible, Tze Yong has no choice but to go under the knife and sacrifice his Paris Olympics dream.
Though sad to see his charge’s hopes of qualifying for the Olympics as good as over, men’s singles coach Hendrawan believed that undergoing surgery was the best for Tze Yong under the circumstances.
“We are trying to compromise by agreeing for him to undergo minor surgery to treat his back issue,” said Hendrawan.
“According to the doctor, he will recover in two to three weeks.
“He could make a comeback in the Spain Masters (March 26-31) and Asian Championships (April 9-14) which are the last two tournaments in the Olympic qualifying window.
“It’s hard to say though as the doctor also said that Tze Yong will recover after taking injection. Tze Yong tried it but it did not work.
“The pain in his back was persistent and has been bothering him for more than a month.
“This is a tough decision for us but Tze Yong’s health is most important.”
Tze Yong, who is currently ranked No. 16 in the world, will miss the French Open (March 5-10) and All-England (March 12-17).
Even if the 23-year-old does return in time for the Spain tourney, his chances of making the cut for the Olympics looks slim.
Hendrawan though is refusing to rule Tze Yong out just yet.
“If Tze Yong can recover from the surgery quickly and return to full training, we will keep trying to help him to qualify,” said Hendrawan.
“He is still young and there’s no point in forcing him to play if he cannot give 100% in training.
“Our only focus now is to make sure he fully recovers.”
